Abrading machine



May 1, 1923. 1,453,742

F. w. BROWNING ABRADING MACHINE Filed Au 28, 1922 5 Sheds-Sheet 1gvvuemtou- I alii o'zwegp.

Patented May 1, 1923.

UNITED ST PAT ) FLETCHER wimownme, or xmesroa'r, rmmnssnn.

ENT' 'oFFica.

I A BRADING MACHINE. I

Application filed August as, 1922. Serial No. 584,798.

chines particularly adapted for treating the surface of strip material,such as leather belts, and aims to provide an expeditious and effectivemeans for treatlng materials .of varying hardness and thickness.

, Referring to the accompanying drawings,

wherein I have shown one illustrative embodiment of my invention- Figure1 is a side elevation of a machine for treating leather transmissionbelts;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the machine certain parts being brokenaway;

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional elevation taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view taken'on the line-44 of Fig. 3; and iFig. 5 is a sectional View of the drum taken on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

The machine selected for illustration, referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 ofthe drawings, comprises a frame or table 1 having suitable side and endframe members and a horizontal top plate 2 to support the work, which isfed from one end under an abrading roll or drum 3. This drum is mountedupon a hori- "zontal shaft 4 extending across the table,

and having its ends journaled in vertically adjustable boxes 5. whichare mounted to slide up and down in suitable slots in hous ings formedby upwardly projecting, portions of the two side frames. The journalsare adjusted so that the bottom of the drum is slightly above the topplate or platen 2 of the table.

The shaft 4 is rotated by any suitable means, such as the pulleys 6 oneach end driven by belts 7 a from a countersha-ft 8 'located beneath thetable. For adjusting the drum 3, cross bars 9 are secured across thetops of the journal housings, and the ends of the shaft 4 are supportedtherefrom by stud bolts or screw threaded stems 10 (Fig.

4) which are secured to the journal boxes 5 and project upwardly throughopenings in the cross bars 9 and have hand wheels or stud bolts 10between t nuts 11 on their upper ends to adjust the journal boxes anddrum vertically A compression spring 12 surrounds each of the crossbars'9 and journals 5' to prevent c attering or vibrations of theabrading'drum when it is driven atvery high speeds.

Preferably the drum is covered with a sheet of suitable abrasive 13 suchas sand paper, for example. In ,order to secure the sheet in place onthe drum a narrow slot. 14 is cut across the drum to receive the ends ofthe sheet. This slot is cut at an acute angleto the axis of the drum toinsure smooth running contact between the peripheryof the drum and thework. To cushion the sheet of I abrasive.-a backing or lagging ofyieldable material 15, such as felt for example, is comented to theouter surface of the drum or attached to it by any suitable means, suchas the screws 16 adjacent theedges of the slot 14 (Fig. 3). A bolt 17 isarranged beneath and substantially parallel to the slot 14 in the drumand is adapted to be secured against rotation in the ends of the drum bya clamping nut 18. This bolt has a longitudinal slot 19 of the samelength as the slot in the periphery of the drum to receive and hold theends of the abrasive sheet (seeFigs. 3, 4 and 5). Hand holes 20 forgivingaccess to the interior of the drum are preferably cut in the endson the same diametrical side as the bolt 17 (see Fig. 3) in order tobalance the drum to compensate for the weight of the bolt 17 on one sideof the shaft 6.

i The sheet of abrasive material 13 may be se- "cured to the drum on thefelt covering 15 by inserting the ends of the'sheet through the slot 14in the drum and through the slot 19 in the bolt, .(see Figs. 3'and 4),the slot 19 being .in alinement with the slot 14. The ends of the sheetmay be guided in. the slot 19 by the operator inserting his hand throughthe hand holes 20 in the end of the drum. The bolt is then turned sothat the slot 19 occupies avdifierent plane from that of the slot 14(Fig. 3) to tighten and hold the sheet of abrasive material undertension on the drum, and the nut 18 on the bolt tightened to hold it inposition, thus securing and maintaining the abrasive material undertension on the drum.

The work may beheld in contact with the abrading drum by a presserroller 21 (see F i s. 3 and 4) having a lagging 22 of suitable material,such as rubber, mounted below the drum 3 on a transverse shaft 23parallel to the shaft 4 of the drum. The roller shaft is carried byjournal boxes 24 which are slidably mounted in vertical slots 25 in theframe. The journal boxes are supported by springs 26 from an adjustingdevice controlled by the lever 27 (see Fig.

1). The lever and adjusting device are mounted in angle bars 28 securedto the frame across the slots 25. Each of the journal boxes 24 has aprojection or boss 29 provided" on its lower side (see Fig. 4), whichcoo erates with a collar pin 30 carried by eac of the cross bars 28 toposition the springs. The collar pins 30 are mounted to reciprocate inholes in the flanges of the angles 28 in vertical alinement with thebosses or projections 29 on the journals 24, and are engaged by cams 31carried on a shaft 32 which is oscillatably mounted below the collarpins 30 in alining openings in the vertical flanges of the angle bars 28(Fig. 4). The hand lever 27 is attached to one end of the shaft 32 andmay be raised and lowered by the operator to oscillate the cam shaft andvary the compression of the roller supporting springs and thereby varythe pressure of the work against the abrading drum.

A notched segment 33 (Fig. 2) is secured to the side of the frame and isadapted to hold material and pay it out to the abrading drum at thedesired speed. They are preferably self adjusting to suit the thicknessof the material. As illustrated, they are arranged for relative verticalmovement in journal boxes 38 which are slidable in slots 37 in the sidemembers of the frame. The journal boxes 38 of the lower feed roller restat the bottom of 'the vertical slots, and the journal boxes of the upperfeed roller are provided with vertical pins 39 projecting upwardlythrough openings on cross bars 40 secured on opposite sides of the slot.The upper roller may be yieldably supported by compression springs 41surrounding the pins 39 between the cross bars 40 and thejournals 38 toexert downward pressure on the feed roller. The lower roller has a'pulley 42 (see Fig. 1) secured on one end of the shaft adapted to bedriven by a cromed belt 43 from a countershaft 44 bemit them to remainin mesh when the up per roller is separated by relatively thick stripspassing through the rolls.

Any suitable means such as a pair of cam lifter plates 46 (see Fig. 1)mav be provided for lifting the upper roller 34 to release the grip onthe work. As shown, these plates coact with the upper journal boxes 36.The lifter plates 46 are slidably mounted'on the frame, preferably byscrews 47 passing through longitudinal slots (see Fig. 1). rectangularslot 48 may be cut in each of the plates to receive the journal boxes ofthe lowerroller and permit relative movement. The lifter plates areraised by cams 49, which engage in circular openings in the lower endsof the lifter plates. The cams 49.are mounted on a transverse shaft 50provided with a suitable lever 51 conveniently located at the end of theframe where it may readily be turned to raise or lower the upbrush 52mounted above the table and behind the abrading drum. The brush is car-,

ried on a shaft 53 having journal boxes 54 adjustably mounted insuitable slots 55 in the side frames. The brush is rotated from thecountershaft 44 by any suitable means such as a cross belt 56 whichdrives the pulley 57 fixed on one end of the brush shaft. The brush isadjustably mounted so that it may be raised or lowered to compensate forwear and to sweep or clean strips of different thicknesses, by anysuitable means such as threaded studs 58 secured in the journal boxes 54passing through openings in the cross bars 59 and having hand wheels ornuts 60 above the cross bars (see Figs. 1 and 3). A guide member such asthe cross bar 61 (Fig. 3) is secured to the frame in front of the brushto guide the work below the brush. In order to remove the dust or toreclaim the abraded particles a hood 62 having hinged sections 63 and 64and a conduit 65 leading to a source of suction is arranged over thebrush and a portion of the abrading drum (Fig. 3). The hinged sectionsmay be raised for making repairs or for inspection purposes. This hoodcovers the space between the brush and drum and prevents the dust fromescaping.

Any suitable driving mechanism may be employed for driving the feedrollers. abrading drum and brush but I prefer to employ a motor 66.mounted under the table. to drive the countershaft 8 which carries apair of pulleys 67 for the belts 7 from the abrading drum. The sizes andarrangement of the pulleys and shafts are such as to drive the drum at ahigh speed in a counterclockwise direction as seen in Fig. 1. The feedroller countershaft 44 has suitable pulleys 68 and 69 for the crossedbelts that drive the feed rollers and brush. This second countershaft ispreferably driven from the first countershaft at a much lower speed. Thefeed rollers and brush are rotated in the direction indicated by thearrows in Fig. 1.-

. It will be observed that the abradingdrum 3 isdriven at a much higherspeedthan the feed rollers 34. The peripheral speed ofthe abrading drummay exceed that of the feed rolls and thereby maintain-the materialunder tension and faciliate the treatment.

For gulding strip material into the feed rollers, I preferably provide arowof perforations or holes 70 immediately in front of the feed rollers34 to receive pins 71. Thereby strips of various widths may be suitablyguided through the feed rollers and under the abrading drum so as toregister properly with thesheets'of abrading material on the drum toutilize them to the best advantage. Sheets correspondin approximately inwidth to the belt being treated may be employed when possible, andthus"economy in the use of sand paper or other abrading material may beeffected.

In the practical operation of my machine for treating the grain side ofleather belts, for example, the pins 71 are inserted in the holes 70 toaccommodate the width of the strip 72 of leather belting to bedressedand the motor is started. The operator feeds the end of the longstrip" of leather (say a three hundred foot strip of two ply belting)between the feed rollers 34 and it is Jald. out automatically at theproper speed between the abrading drum 3 and the presser roller 21. Thepresser roller 21 exerts an upward pressure on the flesh side of thestrip of leather so that the grain side is yieldably held in. engagementwith the abradingsurface of the drum at the proper pressure to removemost effectively the-desired portion of .the hard scales of theepidermis. The strip passes under the I guide bar 61' and brush 52which. rotates in the opposite direction. to the travel of the strip andcleans its surface. The strip as it leaves the table may be wound on adrum, not shown, to keep it under tension under the brush. The operatorcanobserve the treated surface of the strip after it has passed throughthe machine and may increase or decrease the pressure exerted by thepresser roller by manipulatin the hand lever 27 to vary the compressionof the compression spr1ngs26 so as to remove more or less of theepidermis as desired. g

It sometimes happens that multiple ply belts vary slightly in thicknessfrom one side to the other and, in such case the operator may raise orlower one side of the' abrading drum-by means of. one of the hand wheelsor nuts 11 to produce a uniformly abraded surface across the entirewidth of the' strip. In order todetermine when the drum is in ahorizontal position an arrow; or pointer 7 3 may be cut in each of thejournal boxes 5 to cooperate with suitable scales 74 marked on the frameadjacent the boxes 3 see Fig. 1). It will be seen that a strip ofbelting of any length may be fed through the machine and its grainsurface abraded in a single operation. The degree of coarseness of theabrading material may be adapted to the character of surface beingtreated and the speed of the machine and the wear upon the abradingmaterial during the run of a long strip may be compensated for byapplying greater pressure to the presser roller. After the sand paper orother abrasive substance becomes gummed with leather dust it may beeasily removed and a' new sheet inserted.

I have discovered that leather belting having its grain surface treatedin my machine may be used with its grain side next to the pulleys andthe coefficient of friction is greater than that of untreated belts.Such belts will last longer because they need not be stretched astightly as a belthaving a hard surface.

My machine is equally applicable treat strips of any material,susceptible of abrasion, Where a smooth surface is desired; and it willbe understood that it is not limited to the treatment of leatherbelting.

Having thus described one illustrative'embodiment of my invention andwithout restricting myself thereto, what I claim is f 1. In a machinefor abrading flexible strip material, in combination, a table, anabrading drum adjustably mounted above said table, a presser rolleryieldably mounted below said drum, cam means for varying the pressure ofsald presser roller, manual means for operating said cam means, feedrollers for gripping and feeding said material, and means under thecontrol of the operator for manipulating said feed rollers.

2. In. an abrading machine for treating strips, in combination, a table,an abrading drum adjustably mounted on said table, presser meansyieldably mounted below said drum, a pair of feed rollers adapted togrip the strip mounted at one end oftthe table,

one of said feed rollers being yieldably mounted, cam means foradjusting one of said rollers, and means for positively driv ing both ofsaid feed rollers and said abrading drum.

3. In a Ihachine for abrading flexible strips, in combination, a, table,a drum adjustably mounted above said table, an abrasive material on theperiphery of said drum, a presser roller yieldably mounted below saiddrum adapted to press the strip against the abrasive substance, manuallyoperable means for varying the pressure exerted by said presser rollerat the will of the operator, strip feeding means under the control ofthe operator, and means for driving the feeding means and said drums.

4. In a machine for abrading strips, a table, a horizontal drum abovethe top of the table having an abrasive material on its pe-V riphery, ayieldable presser roller mounted below the top of the table andextending upwardly therethrough and adapted tov press the work intoengagement with the abrasive, a manually operable cam shaft constructedand arranged to vary the pressureof said roller against the work, a pairof feed rollers for gripping the work and paying it out to combination;a table, an abrading drum on the table, presser means below the, drum, apair of feed rollers in front of the drum, one of the feed rollers beingyieldably mounted the abrading drum, and means for driving said drum andfeed rollers.

5. In a machine for abrading strips, in combination, a table, anabrading drum adjustably mounted on the table, a presser roller slidablymounted below the drum,

compression springs normally urging said presser roller toward the drum,cam means for varying the compression of said springs, manual means foroperating said cam means and means for paying out the work between thepresser roller and abrading drum 6. In a machine for abrading str1ps, m

above the other, cam operated means for raising and lowering'said upperroller, said means comprising lifting plates below the upper rollerbearing, a cam cooperating with each of said lifter plates,;manual meansfor operating said cams simultaneously, and means for driving said feedrollers and drum.

7. In an abrading machine, in combina-' .tion, a table, an abrading drumon the table.

presser means below the drum, a pair of feed rollers in front of thedrum, one of the feed rollers being yieldably mounted, means for raisingand lowering said yieldable roll- .driving said drum.

er, com rising a pair of slidably mounted lifter p ates cooperating withthe bearings of said roller and manual means for operating said lifterplates, means for driving one of said feed rollers, gearing for drivingthe yieldable feed'roller from the shaft of the other roller, anddriving vmeans for said drum.

' 8. In an abrading machine, in combina tion, a table, an abrading drumon the table,

presser means below the drum, a pair of feed rollers in front of thedrum, one of the feed rollers being yieldably mounted above the other,cam operable means for raising and lowering said upper roller, means fordriving the lower one of said feed rollers,

gearing for driving the upper feed roller from the shaft of the lowerroller, said gearing comprising a pair of pinions having long teethadapted to remain in mesh when the upper roller is raised, and means for9. In apparatus for treating the grain of leather belts, means forabrading the working surface of the completed belt, and means 3 formaintaining the unifo rmity of the abrading action throughout the lengthof the belt.

10. In apparatus for treating the grain of leather belts, means forabrading the surface of the completed belt, yielding presser means forholding the belt in engagement with the abrading means, and means tovary the pressure exerted b the presser means to produce a uniformly araded surface throughout the length of the belt.

11. In apparatus for abrading the grain

